Comments

The family already got an entirely unprecedented hearing over their issue, and the mayor's absence didn't prevent them from filing their lawsuit. I understand their grief, and they will probably get at least a hefty settlement out of their lawsuit plus some agreed-upon changes to police procedure going forward, but City business shouldn't be put to a halt on short notice just because they wanted to do some media grandstanding. How would any mayor be effective if they set aside their schedule each time an individual constituent wanted a photo op, no matter how pressing or sympathetic their issue might be?

Why couldn't the mayor just do the decent thing and be there in person for this? He had no reason to disrespect the family by making them settle for the damn chief of staff.

And it wasn't short notice. They'd said they would be there yesterday. If nothing else, couldn't the mayor have called them and worked out a time to meet them? It's not as though he has anything to do that's more important than being there for the people of the city, especially the grieving families of the city. That's pretty much why the job exists.